Homepage of Philipp Haeuselmann

  (Photo by Karoly Tompa)


Working address

Ph. Haeuselmann
Swiss Institute for Speleology and Karst Studies
c.p. 818
CH-2301 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

Phone                +41 32 913 3533
Email                praezis<at>speleo.ch

 
Home address

Ph. Haeuselmann
Weissenaustr. 85
CH-3800 Unterseen, Switzerland

Phone                +41 31 332 0174  / +41 77 426 2390



 See my CV                                                       See my publication list                                         See my projects  

Who am I?

I'm a german-speaking Swiss cititzen from Berne. Already as a kid, I got interested in nature and its related subjects, so I declared I wanted to be an "animal researcher". Farming and wood-cutting at my grandparents' and my Cousin's increased this wish, so I completed all the necessary schools. By then I came into contact with the world of caves, and at the very last day of inscription to the University, I decided to try geology instead of Forestry engineering (wich was closest to the living world). I soon became aware that the Earth is living, breathing and as fascinating as any other critter could be - only with timescales that are somewhat different. So, I never since regretted this choice.

Between 1991 and 1998 I was at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the University of Berne. In 1997, I finished my diploma in the field of Mineralogy and Petrology: Evolution and metamorphism of the rocks in Val Vergeletto (Ticino), under supervision of Martin Engi and Larryn Diamond. Many people find it strange that I was on the mineralogic side since I am also a keen caver! But right now, I consider myself as a "Earth scientist" rather than a Mineralogist or a Sedimentologist. This also has to do with my PhD: "Cave Genesis and its relationship to surface processes: Investigations in the Siebenhengste region", a work under supervision of Michel Monbaron and Pierre-Yves Jeannin. The thesis was carried out 1998-2002 at the University of Fribourg Switzerland. 

Between 2002 and 2003 I was at my PostDoc stay with Darryl Granger at EAS, Purdue University, USA. Here, I dated the oldest phases of the Siebenhengste caves with cosmogenic isotopes. Thus, this work was in a certain sense the continuation of the PhD. The results are excellent, the oldest cave sediment is 4.4 Ma old! They need now to be published... In parallel, I was occupied writing a monography of St. Beatus Caves. It is now printed!

Then, I was  working for the BOKU Vienna (Markus Fiebig), and dated the classical Bavarian Deckenschotter, the famous Günz and Mindel glaciations. After a stay in Bern (Happy Ice Age/Christian Schlüchter,  KAW lab/Jan Kramers), I continued the datings  in Vienna. Of course, it is burial age determination by cosmogenic 26Al and 10Be. Parallel to that, I dated some caves in the Chartreuse massif (France), together with Fabien Hoblea (Chambery), as well as Grotta Masera with Alfredo Bini. We plan to do some comprehensive terrace and cave dating in the Eastern Alps, in Austria and Slovenija, maybe also in Italy. The aim would be the temporal and spatial reconstruction of the geomorphological evolution during the last some million years.

Due to different unlucky reasons, my stay in Vienna ended prematurely. That's why I returned to Switzerland and am now working at the Swiss Institute for Speleology and Karst Studies. There are a lot of different tasks waiting for me... and with my spare time (I am currently occupied at 70 %) I continue my research on cave genesis, datings, and surface evolution.


Monography of the St. Beatus Caves!
A complete monography of the St. Beatus Caves, from history over geology to genesis. 256 pages, 16 big color photos, and the complete plan material (23 atlas sheets in the scale 1:1000). The general part is completely german and french, with english summaries.
Its price is CHF 42.- / USD 34.- / Euro 28.- plus shipping costs.
Mail orders to my email address, please.

What do (or did) I do?

In the Natural History Museum Bern (1994-2001):
  • determining mineral species by X-ray diffraction and Guinier technique
  • caretaking of the database of the mineralogic section
  • helping to build up new exhibitions
  • Electron Microprobe analyses and other research work
    • In the Institute of Geological Sciences, Bern University (1997-1998):
  • Assistant for Fluid Inclusion Studies within the Sedimentary Group
  • Assistant for various practical lessons for undergraduate students, help for graduates
  • Assistant (sometimes leader) in field courses and excursions
    • In the Institute of Geography, Fribourg University  (1998-2002):
  • Caving research: The main object are the cave systems north of Lake Thun.
  • Genesis of St. Beatus Cave and Baerenschacht in relation with valley deepening, glaciations and surface morphogenesis (This was my PhD project). We found that the cave system north of Lake Thun contains at least eleven distinct speleogenetic phases that are in connection with ancient valley floors. The work allowed to better define the six lowest phases, to construct a framework of relative chronology (erosion-sedimentation cycles) and to date this by U/Th on speleothemes. The ages obtained for these phases are in good agreement with the known glacial stratigraphy outside the cave. The end result of the PhD was the temporal and spatial succession of valley deepening phases and glacial cycles within the last 400'000 years. Integrated within this PhD is the understanding of the paleogeographic (Cretaceous to Eocene) and paleotectonic evolution of the region north of Lake Thun.
    • In the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University (2002-2003):
  • dating of the oldest Siebenhengste caves by cosmogenic isotopes. Due to an important content of undesired elements, I tried to evaluate different chemical cleaning methods. Now, the chemistry is done, and the samples are measured! The oldest sediment is 4.4 Ma - thus the PostDoc work was a great success. The paper is now out - check the February 2007 issue of Geology!
  • preparing papers... :-) and a monography about St. Beatus Cave.
    • In the Institut für angewandte Geologie, BOKU Vienna (2004-2005, 2007-):
  •  I dated the Günz and Mindel Deckenschotter by burial age determination with cosmogenic isotopes: a technique that is in development
  • Date the Granier cave systems (Chartreuse, France) with cosmogenic isotopes. The question is interesting, but the sediment poor in quartz... The results are interesting to see if the valley deepening was similar in France and Switzerland for comparable sites (both Siebenhengste and Chartreuse are in the Helvetic Border chain, at the rim of the Alps). 
  • Date Grotta Masera (Italy) also by cosmogenic nuclides. The cave is thought to contain Pliocene sediments. It most probably IS Pliocene.
  • The project from 2007 onwards is to give help to a PhD project that uses cosmogenic nuclides to date caves in Austria and Slovenija in order to date the valley evolution. Parallel to that, I also collaborate with the Slovenian Academy and the University Babes-Bolyai in Cluj for diploma and PhD theses.
    • In the Swiss Institute for Speleology and Karst Studies (2006-)
  • mapping caves for several applications
  • scientific work for conservation purposes and for hydrogeological applications
  • continue general cave research...
  • One of the interesting topic is the genesis of watertable caves versus looping caves: The four state model gives some answers, but it seems that there are more things still to be discovered. We are working on it...


    • Other activities

  • Past President of the Section of Berne of the Swiss Speleological Society SSS
  • President of the Scientific Commission of the SSS, member of the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences
  • Chairman, International Union of Speleology Working Group Topography & Mapping (UISIC grp)
  • Responsible for the Electronic Archive of the SSS
  • etc.

    • Home to [Swiss Speleological Society] [SGH Bern]
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